Paradise X #0

Background

Mar-Vell has killed Death and built a heaven for all the fallen heroes. X-51
has made every alternate Earth aware of the Celestial embryo dwelling within it.
Set some time after the events of Universe X, the world seems to be in a state
of stability and the dead are finally being granted their reward. However, even
paradise has a price.

Story Details

Steve Rogers walks through the streets of his hometown, the time period is a few
years after the first world war. He meets his parents, younger than he ever
knew them, and a sickly brother who must have passed away before he was born.
He's there to convince them that they're actually dead, that they live in an
illusory world. As he leaves them, he ascends to the sky with newly grown
wings, hoping he'll soon be able to convince them of that so he can bring them
to the Paradise he now protects.

After this introduction, we're given a brief recap as to the purpose of
Mar-Vell's large search for various artefacts around the Marvel Universe. The
two tomes which would create the images of humanity in Paradise, the Eye and Orb
of Agamotto to find the other objects, the Dimensional Door to reach Paradise,
the Emotio-Box to help calm the residents who have trouble adjusting, the
Reanimator Stone to revive those still in Death's Realm, and the Cosmic Cube
which would be used to create a myriad of worlds for the inhabitants to live
within. These, as well as a few other objects, gave Mar-Vell an omniscience
that showed him how to defeat Death and how to create Paradise and the power to
make it happen. In a sense, Mar-Vell has become God.

Steve returns to the small plot of land to meet the various people who prepare
themselves for their trip to Paradise. Heroes and villains alike are all
welcomed into Paradise, although some are more suspicious than others. Bucky
says his farewells, telling Steve that he deserves a place in Paradise more than
anyone else. Instead, Steve will act as a guardian, accompanied by Black Bolt,
Iron Man, Phoenix, Dr. Doom, and Giant Man. The seventh guardian is Daredevil,
although he appears to be no more than Matthew Murdock now without the angelic
appearance of the others. He distributes small pieces of the Cosmic Cube to
everyone and they all ascend into their own personal Paradise. The role of the
guardians is to protect this ever expanding Paradise as it fills itself with the
personal realities of each person. Paradise resides in the Negative Zone, and
as it expands, its residents take exception to their territory being encroached
upon.

On the Moon, X-51 is confronted by some unseen assailants who attack Uatu and
demand information on what has happened in the last 30 years. X-51 gives us a
recap of the events on Earth in Earth X and Universe X; how the Celestial Embryo
was destroyed and anarchy was averted.

Back in New York, Cyclops and Phoenix exercise their psychic link as Scott
reports on what's happening within the city. The torches, which had been used
to burn the Terrigen Mists once present in the atmosphere, have been toppled and
are now hospitals. The still living people on the Earth have been given
immortality with the destruction of Death, but because of that, the mortally
wounded are forced to live in extremely painful conditions. The hospitals exist
to repair what damage they can, the entire effort being spearheaded by Dr.
Strange.

Elsewhere across the Earth, Sunfire prepares for a special mission with his
personal body guards, the Silver Samurai robots created by Tony Stark. In
England, King Britain and Medusa prepare for a marriage that will hopefully
unite the population of the Earth. Iron Maiden leaves to help rescue Cable from
his prison in the Savage Land with the aid of the Iron Avengers. Peter and May
Parker are introduced to a new member of The Law, New York's peace keeping unit.
Hell's Kitchen has a new protector in the shape of Nightcrawler, who still has
the physical appearance of Belasco. Thor, now aware of himself as one of the
formless aliens, works with Loki to bring Surtur to their side in a battle
against Odin.

Steve Rogers travels back to the realm of the dead to bring his parents to
Paradise when a stranger confronts him. His right eye emits a glow as he
attempts to convince those around them that they're already dead.

On the moon, X-51's attackers are revealed to be the Guardians of the Galaxy.

General Comments

Whew, that's one heck of a way to kick off a series. Several new threads are
established and doubt is cast upon all that was built up in the last two parts
of the trilogy. Mar-Vell's Paradise seems to come at an awfully high price.
Not only is it taking up space in a foreign realm, but it effectively forces its
residents to enjoy their stay by manipulating their emotions.

The series has been toppling or undermining gods and demons such as the
Celestials, the Asgardians, and Mephisto. Now, Mar-Vell is a self-made deity,
and he seems to be destined for the same sort of downfall. It should prove
interesting to see how this plays out for him.

The Guardians of the Galaxy seem to be the wild cards in this series. Aside
from the Skrull and Kree, very few aliens have really been showcased in the X
series, so it'll be interesting to see how the more cosmic scale of this final
chapter will work.

The artwork seems especially sharp. The pencils appear to have more detail and
the colouring is top notch. Steve Rogers as an angel is a really tough look to
capture, but the art team manages to pull that and several other challenges off
very well. It really completes overall package.